Early last month Carl Braun with Coldwell Banker Commercial Elite of Fredericksburg, VA helped the Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity close on a new ReStore space. Mr. Braun worked directly with the property owner and local real estate investor Hugh Cosner, who helped the organization with providing a generous lease rate.
The deal was closed on March 11th for 28,483 SF at 2376 & 2378 Plank Road in the Gateway Village Shopping Center off of Route 3 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The lease term on the space is for 20 years with 4-5 year renewal options. The Gateway Village Shopping center is anchored by a Home Depot & Gold’s Gym, and other retail tenants include Goodwill and Tuesday Morning.
Below is the Article/Story posted in the Free Lance Star:
Savvy homeowners looking to snap up building materials for a song—and do good in the process—will soon be able to choose from a larger selection.
The Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore has outgrown its location off U.S. 1 and will be moving this summer into a larger space in Gateway Village on State Route 3.
“We are so cramped,” said Tom Carlson, executive director. “We’ve got so much material that comes in that we’re renting extra space to store it.”
Currently, the ReStore’s 5,700-square-foot space at the Four-Mile Fork Business Center is chockablock with lighting fixtures, kitchen cabinets, refrigerators and other donated building materials and household goods. Carlson said he worries that the aisles are tough for someone in wheelchair to navigate.
Shawn Payne (left) and Donna Brown, who originally came to shop for portable dishwashers, ended up buying a toilet from the ReStore.
ReStore’s new digs will be in a roomier, 28,000-square-foot space next to Gold’s Gym. Hugh Cosner gave the organization a “wonderful lease rate” on its new location, which will be prepared for its new use over the next few months, Carlson said.
He added that he expects donations will increase once the move takes place, and that he’ll have to hire more staff over the next year and a half.
“This is a huge sea change for our ReStore and our administrative space,” Carlson said. “Everything that we’ve got here is so compressed and so small. We’re so looking forward on this.”
ReStores are resale outlets that sell donated reusable and surplus building materials, such as windows and doors, as well as some appliances and household furnishings, at a fraction of their original price to the public. Proceeds help fund the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes.
“We do a half million [dollars] in sales annually,” Carlson said. “We have a tremendous profit margin that goes into building more homes.”
Currently, the Fredericksburg ReStore is ranked the fourth highest among the 822 Habitat for Humanity ReStore stores nationwide for the dollar amount it generates per square foot, he said.
The Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore started out about 18 years ago in a church basement, then moved into a small building not far away on Houser Drive. It has been at the U.S. 1 location for about eight years.
During that time, the Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity has used proceeds from its ReStore to help build 19 homes for those living in inadequate or substandard housing in Fredericksburg or the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania or King George.
Cathy Jett, Free Lance Star: View Full Article on Fredericksburg.com
